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Rice Football 2023: Texas presser quotes and depth chart

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Rice football visits Texas this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup at hand and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They discussed camp thus far and previewed the week ahead, detailing what they’re expecting to see when Texas takes the field.

Listen Now: The Roost Pod – Rice Football vs Texas Game Preview

We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

“We have an awesome opportunity this week, heading to play the University of Texas. It’s a great challenge for our football team. We understand how talented they are. We’ve been preparing all offseason for them. I think physically and mentally, we’re a stronger football team and that’s going to give us our best chance as we go out there.” – Mike Bloomgren on playing Texas

“What does it take to finish? It’s us deciding, making that decision to finish and knowing that we are good enough. That’s one thing we’ve talked about. We have enough talent and we know it’s going to be about what we do, how we perform. That’s a talented group on the other sideline. There’s no doubt. We’re going to study their scheme. We’re gunna have great answers. But at the end of the day it’s going to be about how we execute and how we perform… I imagine if we fight the way we’re capable of and play the way we’re capable of, we’re going to have those opportunities again and now it’s about taking that next step as a program and finishing those things.” – Mike Bloomgren on the what it will take to pull off an upset

“We’re at the point now where we have twos that are going to play on purpose and they’re going to play because we know it’s going to be hot as Hades in Austin this weekend and we’re going to rotate some people, but also because they’ve earned the right. They’ve earned the trust of their teammates and their coaches. So yeah, the depth is a big plus for our football team… The separation from our ones and twos at some positions is so miniscule that, once again, those guys are going to get the chance to play and in addition to that, they’re going to be competing for the starting role every week of the season.” – Mike Bloomgren on the depth of the team

““It’s a great opportunity and it’s always fun. It’s one of the coolest stadiums there is. They get loud. They get rocking. They have a great time. It’s a very good team. It’s a great test to start the season…. It’ll get loud on third downs. When you walk out, it’ll feel crazy when you see 100 [thousand] or however many there will be, but when you’re in the heat of the moment, you kind of forget it. It looks really cool. Take in the moment when you run out of the tunnel and appreciate getting the opportunity to do that – you know how many people dream of doing that – but when you’re actually in the moment, you’re not even going to notice it.” – Quarterback JT Daniels on the environment in Austin

“Every rep is gold, from an experience standpoint. Being able to go through a whole season, being able to go through a spring ball, fall camp and another spring ball and this year, capping it off with another great month of training is so helpful… From a preparation standpoint, [I feel] better than I ever felt.” – Wide receiver Luke McCaffrey on his confidence at the position 

“One of our focal points this year is consistency. I think we’ve done a great job being consistent with those six and seven guys. We’ve had good rotations during practice but our post-practice, our film study, instead of six or seven individual eyes we’re trying to see the game through one pair of eyes. What the call is from JT or our center, Braedon Nutter, whatever the call is, we’re living that call. We’re trying to communicate, we’re trying to block as a unit instead of five individuals.” – Tackle Clay Servin on the progress of the offensive line 

Depth Chart

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Depth Chart Notes

Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren did note there was only one projected member of the two-deep that would not be available this coming weekend, backup offensive lineman Miguel Cedeno. He’s expected to return to practice soon, and otherwise, the Owls are looking as healthy as they’ve been entering a season in quite some time.

As for the remainder of the depth chart, we’ll have some further clarification on the last few position battles in our practice update coming later in the week. At first pass, there isn’t much on this initial depth chart of the season that should surprise anyone. Landon Ransom secured his starting spot as was expected. Tyson Flowers has bumped up to second string after a strong finish to camp, replacing Shepherd Bowling on the two-deep.

An “OR” shared between Tre’shon Devones and Jordan Dunbar is curious, and represents a nod to Devones’ impressive camp. He had a couple of interceptions, including a pick of JT Daniels, and has played well. We’ll have a better feel for how much actual playing time that will translate to by the time we’ve gotten through practices this week.

On special teams, Tim Horn, Conor Hunt and Wyatt Freeman claimed victory in their respective position battles.

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Rice Football 2022: UNT presser quotes and depth chart

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Rice football visits North Texas this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup at hand and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a pair of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the UTSA loss and looked at the week ahead, detailing what they’re expecting to see when North Texas takes the field.

More: Rice Football – Blue and Gray Preview Show

We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

“My hat’s off them. They performed at an incredibly high level., I look back at our offense and I see a group that got out-physicaled and that’s something that is hard to swallow because that’s something we hang our hat on. Defensively, we missed a couple of fits and every time we did something wrong, they made us pay in a big way. That’s what happens with small areas, (they) add up to a big stuff as four quarters of football goes on and that’s what we saw on Saturday.” – Mike Bloomgren on the UTSA game

“[UTSA] was our first time having back-to-back losses all year, but you feel like you haven’t won a game in forever and that’s just not the case. That’s how you feel as a 45-year-old man. You can imagine what it is like for 18 to 222-year-olds that are dealing with social media? That’s why I thought it was important to remind them that they are a good football team. They’re not the football team that’s only played the last two games. They’re the football team that has won some really big games this year, that’s come back and overcome things and they’re really talented. We’re a good football team.” – Mike Bloomgren on his message to the team

“I imagine he’s a very mature kid. I’ve talked Seth [Littrell] about him, Seth loves him and thinks he’s a great leader. You see that. At this point his career it’s a little bit like Mason Fine in terms of the leadership ability and how you see him rallying his teammates.” – Mike Bloomgren on North Texas quarterback Austin Aune

“KD [Davis] is a great player, obviously going against him the past couple of years. He’s a solid linebacker. I look forward to the match up again. Their front is definitely a lot of different guys [from last year] so it’s really going to be about our preparation this week, watching film. What were these guy’s tendencies? We have played against them, really just looking at that film and making sure we’re ready for these new transfers that they have up front, guys that we’re going to be going against play after play.” – Tight end Jack Bradley on the North Texas defense 

“I feel like we’re a team that’s been battle tested. We’re a team that seen and been through and overcome adversity, time after time. So this isn’t a position that we’re not used to being in. And I’m not worried about where any of the guys head’s [are] at, or anything, where the coach’s heads [are] at or anything. Through this whole program, we’ve seen and been through adversity. So I think we’re going to get spot mentally and a good spot physically. We got guys coming back and we’ve just got to keep doing what we always do, respond to adversity.” – Defensive end Joshua Pearcy on the team’s current mindset

Depth Chart

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Depth Chart Notes

The biggest adjustment this week is at quarterback, where Wiley Green has been removed from the spot below TJ McMahon in favor of freshman AJ Padgett, currently listed as a co-starter. Who suits up for the Owls on Saturday remains TBD, but we’ll have a bit more later in the week in our practice notes (available to our subscribers).

On defense, Blake Boenisch has officially leapfrogged Izeya Floyd as the starter at the nose tackle spot, but still expect to see a heavy rotation there. Additionally, Lamont Narcisse is off the depth chart after being injured in practice last week. He’s been replaced by Tre’shon Devones, who started for the Owls last weekend against UTSA.

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Rice Football 2022: UTSA presser quotes and depth chart

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Rice football hosts UTSA this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup at hand and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a pair of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the WKU loss and looked at the week ahead, detailing what they’re expecting to see when UTSA takes the field.

More: Rice Football – Blue and Gray Preview Show

We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

“What a great team to have on our schedule with only being three hours apart. They have been the class of conferences, certainly last year they elevated their team, they beat a Big Ten team. They scare everybody they play and they haven’t lost a conference game this year. This is a really, really good football team and I think we all can acknowledge that. But I also think it’s really cool anytime you play a team in Texas where a lot of our guys went to high school together and played against each other and have those backstories that make rivalries what they are. I’m glad this one will continue, and like I said, aside from the days we play each other, I think the world of Jeff Traylor and consider him a friend.” – Mike Bloomgren on UTSA

“You know, some people say it’s already secured, but I don’t want to think like that. I want to say that we’ve got to go earn this thing. We’ve got to win these next two games and put ourselves in the position we want to be in. You know me, I always talk process and progress, but I wanted it to be a little more than incremental progress, right? I wanted to take a bigger jump. I wanted to earn that bowl game and I want to play for a conference title. I thought those were things that if we played well on 12 Saturdays, we would have a chance to do, and we played well on some Saturdays, but we didn’t on others, so we don’t have that opportunity anymore.” – Mike Bloomgren on potentially reaching a bowl game

“I don’t know that I can give you a straight answer on that right now. What I can tell you is Shawqi [Itraish] came in and finished out the game and he took a lot of reps with the ones yesterday and did a really nice job. TJ [McMahon] was at practice and did all the things in drill work which is probably more than I expected. He’s still hurting and I have no idea exactly what the future looks like in that position. We’re taking it day by day. I heard Sean McDermott when asked about Josh Allen said it was hour by hour. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re day by day and whomever the trainers say is in a position where they’re clear and ready to perform, they’re going to go out there and do it.” – Mike Bloomgren on the plan at quarterback

“Just really buckling down on the offense, knowing kills, knowing when not to kill, reading defenses, all that type of stuff, just learning our playbook that much better really helped me out there, really helped my growth… I think my biggest strength is my ability to stay in the pocket and take some of those hits but deliver the ball down the field at the same time, and deliver it accurately.” – Quarterback Shawqi Itraish on how he feels his game has improved this year 

“Those guys are special, they’ve done a lot for this program. Those guys are my leaders. I look up to them, all my class does, all the classes below them do. That’d be very special to us, to go get this sixth win and make history with these guys that we love so much and admire so much.”- Defensive tackle Blake Boenisch on winning for the senior class on Senior Day

“Practice is practice. We get tons better from practice and I always say perfect practice this perfect play. But a game is just a whole different atmosphere. Everything’s happening so much more fast, everything’s more physical. I just feel games is a better opportunity to learn more stuff like that at a faster speed. And that’s more you can do in practice.” – Defensive tackle Blake Boenisch on what he’s taking away from his first career start

Depth Chart

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Depth Chart Notes

For the first time in several weeks, Wiley Green finds his name on the depth chart. Green has been back at practice for more than a week, but as of now his availability for Saturday is unknown. Catch a full detailed breakdown of the quarterback situation later in the week in our practice notes (available to our subscribers).

Additional changes this week include the addition of Uriah West to the depth chart, a formality given his assigned role as the short-yardage specialist. The team has also listed Isaac Klarkowski as the starting center this week — he started last week.

On defense, Chike Anigbogu has replaced Marcus Williams as the backup to Treshawn Chamberlain at Viper.  After serving in an expanded role over the last several weeks, Daveon Hook earned an or designation behind George Nyakwol at free safety. At corner, Lamont Narcisse is listed as a starter opposite Sean Fresch, who missed the Western Kentucky game.

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Rice Football 2022: WKU presser quotes and depth chart

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Rice football visits Western Kentucky this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup at hand and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a pair of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the UTEP win and looked at the week ahead, detailing what they’re expecting to see when Western Kentucky takes the field.

More: Rice Football – Blue and Gray Preview Show

We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

“It was pretty cool for our team to get that win; to have the response that we needed and to do the things that we needed to do on a short week and make sure that we were prepared for that game on Thursday night. Our guys had to be pros. They had to take every walkthrough like it was a game rep and I’m really proud of the fact that they did that. After watching the film, I think we’re doing a lot of good things for the team. There’s no doubt about that.” – Mike Bloomgren on the UTEP win

“When you talk about Austin Reed, you talk about a winner. He’s a guy who won a Division II national title at West Florida. He’s doing a great job. This offense looks a little different with him in there. His willingness to run and the fact that he really is a duel threat, so I think he brings a lot to the table. They’re moving the sticks at a great rate and they’re putting the ball in the box. Against a conference opponent, they scored 73 points. That’s pretty crazy in 2022.” – Mike Bloomgren on WKU quarterback Austin Reed

“The bottom line for our defense right now is that on first and second down, I think we’re doing some really productive things. But, there’s still too many times where we get someone in third-and-long and we’re allowing them to move the sticks. That’s something that we’re continuing to work on. You look back at the last two games; to have a third-and-14 and a third-and-16 and they’re converted on the ground, that’s not what we want. We want to still rally and make those plays. In each of those examples, you either had somebody miss an assignment or get a hand on the ball carrier where it would have been well short of the first down marker and we didn’t make the play. We just have to continue to trust and believe in what Coach Smith is presenting and we have to make the plays that are there for us and we’ll be just fine. ” – Mike Bloomgren on adjustments needed for the Rice defense

“We’re resilient team and we can we can play through anything. We practice hard. The things that we go through in practice, the things we went through in the summer, it all comes into play now. When you got a tough game, a tight game, when it’s close you got to look to the guy next to you to make a play. And I think we’re capable of doing that and obviously you saw it on Thursday. Players are gonna make plays. That’s what we do.” – Defensive lineman Quent Titre on what he’s learned about this team 

“I’m fine with it. I thrive in that siatuon, all the pressure. When you’re up against the corner and you know you need somebody to make that play, that’s my favorite situation because that’s when you shine. That’s when everybody sees it. I like being in that position, I think that’s a fun position to be in.” – Wide receiver Isaiah Esdale on his role in the offense 

Depth Chart

Depth Chart Notes

The only changes to the depth chart this week appear to be procedural. The offensive line is now listed as they started the game against UTEP, with Isaac Klarkowksi returning to center and Shea Baker sliding over to left guard in place of John Hughes. The only other adjustment is the removal of Ari Broussard, who has missed the past two games with injuries. It’ll be Juma Otoviano and Cameron Montgomery atop the depth chart this week as expected.

Punt return is the other change. Luke McCaffrey was given a shot last week, but he fumbled. The next man up will be Isaiah Esdale. The WVU transfer has worked at punt return throughout the season, but hasn’t been tasked with the assignment in a game just yet. That could change on Saturday.

Some questions remain as to the availability of others currently listed on the depth chart that did not play in prior weeks, namely safety George Nyakwol and receiver Cedric Patterson. We’ll have more updates on both players and their projected availability in our practice notes later in the week (available to our subscribers).

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Rice Football 2022: Charlotte presser quotes and depth chart

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Rice football hosts Charlotte this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup at hand and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a pair of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the Louisiana Tech win and looked at the week ahead, detailing what they’re expecting to see when Charlotte takes the field.

More: Rice Football – Blue and Gray Preview Show

We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

“Defensively, it was certainly not our best game. But, when all the chips were on the line, we found a way to end the game by denying them that two-point opportunity. Again, I chalk that up to all of the hits on the passer and being able to stop the run game all day long. A lot of good things went into that last play, I think.

I want to say this. After preparing for it  and watching it in-game, I don’t think Sonny Cumbie is just a good offensive, creative mind, I think he’s a great one. I think he did a phenomenal job and his kids played incredibly hard. The way that they came out in the first quarter was impressive. The way they fought on both sides of the ball and to jump out on us 10-0. Again, my hats off to what he his building there. But, once again, I’m glad we found a way to win the game.” – Mike Bloomgren on the challenges posed by Louisiana Tech

“I wish I could tell you some unbelievable speech. There were a couple of things that we tweaked at halftime and a couple of changes that we made, but there weren’t many to be quite honest. But in the second quarter, we drove down to the one-yard line and put the ball on the ground. So, it’s not like we weren’t moving the rock. To get the touchdown through the air to Luke [McCaffrey] was a big deal. I think there were a lot of things that went right for us to only be down 10-7 at halftime, including Sean Fresch’s pick in the end zone.

I went into the locker room very grateful to only be down three points with the way we played in the first half. We just had to come out and play our style of football. There’s not going to be a whole lot of magic. I’m very thankful that we were able to come out and execute better.” – Mike Bloomgren on offensive adjustments against Louisiana Tech

“It’s largely the same personnel that we’re gonna play in the Charlotte game again. The good thing about that for us is I think we’ve evolved a lot. We’ve grown a lot. So I welcome that opportunity. We know them well. We know how explosive those receivers are. And we all remember where we were. We were in the fourth quarter, up 10 points, with six minutes to play and [they went] right down the field… We didn’t perform overtime. So we know what the thing look like. But I do think we’re a very different team whereas their cast of characters is pretty similar.” – Mike Bloomgren on how this Charlotte team compares to last year’s team

“That overtime win had been something elusive in my career as a Rice Owl so you can believe I was breathing a sigh of relief and celebrating when we finally got that that elusive overtime win. I was almost in disbelief. It was just like, wow, like, here we came and we actually did it. So it’s awesome. I think another thing that came from it is we just build that confidence. I think last year it was tough on us because we went back to back overtime games and we lost both of them..

But now we’re seeing that even when we’re not performing to our standards on all three phases of the team, each phase stepped up at a certain time and put is in a position to win even with that little extra quarter we played. As much as you don’t want to be in that situation, it did do loads for our confidence.” – Defensive end Trey Schuman on winning in overtime

“At some point, I just realized it was bigger than me. We all came here to play football and win games. When we were trending in a bad direction early in my time here at Rice, I just wanted to find ways that I could impact the team off the field. And that just grew with working on our bonds and working on what we can do outside of football to get closer so that when we’re on the field we can just play lights out every play for each other.” – Running back Juma Otoviano on the team’s mentality

Depth Chart

Rice Football

Depth Chart Notes

Rice football did not release a depth chart prior to the FAU game, so this week’s updates account for two games’ worth of changes. First on offense, Tyson Thompson, who’s been out for several weeks with an injury, was replaced by Kobie Campbell as the Owls’ fourth wide receiver. Peyton Stevenson also saw his named added to the depth chart for the first time, as he’s been running in front of Rawson McNeil in the backup X role.

The offensive line is the same as it was deployed last week, although officially slightly altered from the FAU game. At running back, Juma Otoviano has jumped into the mix, and will most likely see an enlarged role this week (stay tuned for this week’s practice notes for me on that front, available to our subscribers).

On defense, there were no official changes. The depth chart is a mirror image of that version which the Owls announced prior to the FAU game.

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